Elsa Comes Out Side Stories
by The Bust of Geralt
Summary: A little series of side stories that happen before or after Elsa Comes Out (Of the Castle)
1. Meeting the Family

The audience chamber was filled with purple cloth bunting from column to column, flowers from giant vases bloomed in vibrant purples and golds. Servants of the household lined the central aisle of the chamber as The King and Queen of Arendelle stood before the throne.

"She always does this, you know," the queen whispered to her husband, "Showing up out of the blue. When I lived down there she would just up and leave at the drop of a hat."

"How do her people deal with that?"

"She'd been queen for so long, I think they're just used to it," the queen shrugged.

As she finished horns blared as the large double doors opened and in stepped an older couple. The woman in whites and pinks, and the gentleman in a jacket of purple and black as they both walked up to the throne as casually as someone might walk through a market.

The two bowed before the throne as the king and queen returned the consideration.

"I do hope we haven't put you through too much trouble, your highness," the older woman said.

"We are, of course, glad to welcome the King and Queen of Corona" Arendelle's king said.

"Please, Queen Rapunzel," the king's wife said, "If you'd be so kind we've prepared a drawing room for the both of you."

"Ohh," Rapunzel said as she and her husband were lead out of the chamber.

Gone was the lavishness of the throne chamber, instead the drawing room was understated, plain wooden furniture, bookshelves, the only real decoration being the lush green and purple carpet and the pair of silver candles sticks on the table. Arendelle's king couldn't help but notice the side glances his Coronian counterpart kept sending over to the table.

"Oh Little Crocus, look at you! Look at you!" Rapunzel said, "Last time I saw you, you were barely a slip of a girl!"

"Oh Auntie, please don't" the queen said, blushing as her cousin practically fondled her.

"Oh don't be like that," Rapunzel said, squeezing the younger woman's shoulders.

"And this must be the little book worm that stole my princess' heart from me," Rapunzel's husband said as he glared at the king.

"Er. I'm sorry?" the king said glancing from the man to his wife.

"Oh come off it Eugene. She wasn't going to marry you anyway."

"You don't know that, I'm very handsome."

"Yes dear."

"I am!"

He was, the king saw. Surprisingly tall, well built for his age, with chestnut hair with streaks of grey shooting through it. The King of Corona had an easy smile that he wore often, he saw. Probably as a defense for his wife who was beautifully aged, even more so when you knew her real age.

"Er.. ahh yes. Well. Uhm. There's well-" the queen stumbled over her words.

"Yes, there are some people we'd like you to meet. Girls!"

A side door opened and two little girls were shown in. The youngest, eight or nine, had blonde hair with a shade of pink to it, while the other, her sister, had hair that reminded Rapunzel so much of her youth and must have been at least eleven. The older girl wore a Dark blue dress with her blond hair tied back with a large ribbon of the same color. The younger sister had her hair pulled back into two small pompom pigtails. She was wearing dress of green and white and brown.

"Oh my goodness who are these two?" Rapunzel squealed.

"Auntie, may I present Elsa and Anna. The princesses of Arendelle," The queen said, "Girls, this is your cousin, Rapunzel, Queen of Corona."

"Oh no no! I'm practically everyone's cousin. You two can call me Auntie," Rapunzel said, sitting down on her knees to look the girls in the eye, "Yes you must call me Auntie. Oh come here girls!" she held out her arms.

Princess Anna ran over to the older woman and hugged her, both of them laughing as she did.

"Hallo Auntie 'Zel!"

"Oh I like that! Eugene, can you call me Auntie 'Zel from now on?"

"Yes, Blondie" her husband said dutifully. He smiled at Princess Elsa, and held out his hand, "Come here dear."

He watched Elsa's eyes widen at his hand and saw her look over to her parents. When they nodded she slowly stepped forward and offered her slightly trembling gloved hand to shake the older king's.

"Hello sir." Elsa said softly.

"Oh my, what manners," Rapunzel said, still holding the younger sister to her breast.

Eugene smiled and took the hand in his own, leaning down and giving the girls knuckles a light kiss.

"It is wonderful to meet you, Elsa."

The girl's face erupted in red.

The two royal families spent a few more minutes talking before a steward was called for to send the two girls to bed. The drawing room's door opened and in stepped a youngish man, older twenties early thirties maybe, wide shoulders with a large nose, though a little short. And, Arendelle's queen thought, rather handsome in a burly sort of way. If rumors were to be believed he was a bit of a stud with the maids of the castle.

"Kai, please take the girls to their rooms," the king said, "It's getting a little late for them.

"Of course, your highness," the man bowed then looked to the girls. Dutifully they followed him, Anna giving Rapunzel one more hug before leaving the room.

Kai closed the door as they left, escorting the girls through the castle halls.

"So what did you two think of the king and queen?" The man asked as they walked.

Without even waiting for a lull, Anna blurted out, "I like them!" She looked over to her sister who was looking at her hand.

"I don't," Elsa eventually squeaked out, unconvincingly.

It was a few nights later when Elsa, tucked into bed, read through a book almost as large as she was, the flickering candle by her bed glowing and filling her world with designs of triangles sliding through rectangles, and making shapes that made her smile. It was late, ten o'clock or so. Elsa knew she should be asleep, but she just couldn't. She wanted to read.

She gasped as her window shook suddenly, opening and sending a breeze in through the room. She dropped her book to find a man crawling in through the window.

"W-who are you! Go away!" she said, pulling the covers over her head.

"Easy, easy," she heard the man say, "It's me Elsa. Uncle Eugene."

Slowly the princess pulled the sheet over her head and, in the glowing candle light seeing the familiar smile of the king, blushed.

"W-what are you doing here?"

Eugene pulled a chair over to the bed, and sat in it, lounging easily, "Well you looked so sad during dinner, I thought you might need some cheering up."

Elsa looked around the room, "I.. I didn't come down for dinner."

"See what I mean?" he said with a grin.

Elsa couldn't help but smile before looking away from the man. Eugene looked around the girl's room.

"You know, I've been in a princess' room before," he said offhandedly, "But I don't think I've ever seen a room this neat."

"I-uh. I like to keep my room clean… it. It makes me feel better…" she said, her voice getting smaller and smaller, "like I'm in control…"

Eugene made a sort of non-committal noise and turned back to the girl, "Would you like me to tell you a story?"

Elsa looked at the door, wishing her father was here. She didn't know what to do, what to say. Eugene pulled his chair closer and Elsa turned back to him. He was smiling.

"Well. Once upon a time," he said, "there was a princess, locked away in a tall tall tower. All day she would read and read, and hope that one day she'd be able to leave her tower and see the world outside. Well one day a handsome prince came along." He waved at himself when he said it, giving her a toothy grin, "He climbed the tall tower, even though the Princess at the top begged him to go away. Because you see, even if she wanted to go out into the world, she was scared to leave her tower…" Eugene continued, gesturing and acting out the story. Elsa laughed and gasped as the Prince and Princess faced danger after danger, until finally at the end they had their happily ever after.

Elsa smiled at her cousin-in-law as he finished.

"Ahh there it is. I knew you could smile," the king said, before leaning down and kissing her forehead, "Good night princess."

Eugene looked at the window and then to the door, "I uh, I think I'll take the door. I'm not so sure I could get back out through the window…"


	2. A Little Hunt

The forest, still even this early in summer, had snow on the ground. The canvas of green and white stretched out before the two mighty destriers and a reindeer as they carried their riders through the wood, their hooves clomping through the crusty snow and earth.

The queen's courser was a large golden animal, its brown hued mane pulled into tight bulbs along its neck. The princess' own horse was a little smaller and white, its mane cut short to look like ramparts dyed white and black. Both horses moved at a dignified trot, the queens' more assuredly then the other. The reindeer on the other hand, while keeping pace, was clearly more interested in the scenery then actually watching where it was going.

"Sven!" the Ice Master was nearly thrown over the beasts head as it jerked to a stop, nearly missing a fallen log and a twisted ankle, "Buddy, you're kind of half of this team." The reindeer grunted shakings it's head, "Okay yeah I know you've been cooped up for a while but do you really want a busted leg?" Another few more grunts, tinged with remorse this time, "Yeah, that's true, but come on buddy." The man patted the animal's neck.

The pair looked up as giggles sounded ahead of them. The royal sisters had stopped waiting and laughing. Kristoff shook his head and, with Sven carefully watching his feet they moved on, the Ice Master taking up a space on the far end of the two, next to his fiancée.

Branches rustled, sending a woody song through the air around them. Already some greenery was starting to sprout from some of the bare trees scattered throughout the evergreens. Anna felt good about this, looking from her soon to be husband to her sister. The three of them hadn't been out like this in ages! They all needed some time out of the castle, time away from all the little duties they all had to attend to. Time to get to know each other again.

A flash caught the young woman's attention, a little blur of red off in the distance, dashing from snow covered green to snow covered green. It was gone as fast as it came and Anna stared past the group, waiting for it to appear again.

"Anna?" Elsa called.

"hmm.."

"Anna!"

"Ah! What!?" Anna looked around to find that her sister and Kristoff had both gone ahead without her.

"What are you doing?" Kristoff asked.

"Uh… nothing. Nothing at all, just ah… Nothing" her horse trotted forward hurrying to her friends. The princess looked back into the wood before speaking up again "Hey, Elsa. Do you think we could, you know, have a hunt?"

Sven's' ears perked up and the reindeer practically glared at her, "Shh, don't listen buddy," Kristoff said, putting a hand on the animal's ears.

"I didn't think you'd enjoy something like that, Anna," Elsa said, surprised.

"Oh no no no no. I don't mean a real one," She turned to the reindeer, "Not a real one Sven, I mean just like for fun, not really hunting anything."

"So just, what, running around the forest with some dogs?" Kristoff asked.

"Yeah! It'd be fun!"

Both of them looked at the princess with varying levels of bemusement.

"Well if nothing's actually going to get hurt… I guess me and Sven could join. What do ya think buddy? A day of just running around, fast as you can?" Sven bucked and danced in his own little way, joyous little grunts resounding as he did. Anna beamed and Elsa laughed at the display, "I guess we're in" Kristoff said once Sven had settled down.

"I suppose we could have a talk with the kennel master. We've not done anything like it before, I'm sure he'd enjoy his dogs getting out for anything at this point."

"You've never had a hunt? Not even your parents?" Kristoff asked.

Elsa shook her head, "Never, not that I know of."

"I always thought you guys did that stuff all the time… What kind of royals are you?"

"The kind that-"

"There he is again!" Anna yelled over her sister, pointing off to the side.

"What?"

"Come on!" Anna's horse surged forward, jumping around Kristoff and Sven and dashing into the underbrush, leaving the queen and the Ice Master alone.

"We should uh, probably follow her, huh?" Kristoff said, looking out into the woods.

"Anna can take care of herself," Elsa said. She thought for a moment, looking out into the greenery, "Most of the time," she added. The pair set off after the younger sister.

Anna was nowhere to be seen, but off the trail here the brush was thick and the queen and ice master's journey was slow going. Sven was careful in his foot falls, while Elsa's courser seemed to effortlessly navigate the brush. Elsa sighed as they made their way and Kristoff glanced over at her. Her hair wasn't in its usual loose braid or spun into a bun, instead it was pulled up into a loose loop like pony tail that softly bobbed as she rode along.

Elsa glanced at him and Kristoff looked away, hoping she hadn't noticed. He thought he could hear her giggle.

"I didn't know you could ride a horse, Elsa." He said after a moment.

"Well, what kind of a royal would I be if I didn't?" an unseen grin stabbed the joke at him.

"Ah haha…" he said, "Still, you're pretty good, I expected you to ride you know, on the side."

"Like this?" Elsa stood up in her stirrups and raised her leg turning her body towards Kristoff and sitting back down, both legs hanging over the same side of the saddle. She smirked at her own prowess.

"Ah yes, the perfect sister eh?"

Elsa looked away for a moment, mumbling something, it almost sounded like 'I'm not perfect'

Kristoff looked around as the air become uncomfortable around them. He'd meant it as a compliment but maybe he should have picked his words better. He scratched as his neck as the fur trimming on his coat tickled him. He looked down at Sven, the path had gotten a little easier and the reindeer was starting to glance around again.

He glanced back over at Elsa, eyes still downcast as she watched the path ahead of their mounts. Sven coughed, and when Elsa looked over said, "You're looking very pretty today, your highness."

Elsa laughed and smiled at Kristoff before looking towards Sven, hearing his 'voice' he'd looked up and back at the pair, "Why thank you Sven," She glanced at Kristoff again, "You're looking very handsome today yourself." She patted the animal's neck.

The pair smiled at each other. They hadn't talked much at all since the winter. It felt nice to see each other again. Kristoff's mouth opened, ready to say something else when a scream blasted through the forest.

"Elsa! Kristoff! Quick!"

Their smiles faded and Kristoff and the queen raced forward, towards the sound of the princess' voice. Branches, brambles and bushes brushed beside the pair as the horse and reindeer dashed around fallen logs, upturned roots and around trees. The forest cleared out and ahead they spied Anna, bouncing by herself, her horse standing aside grazing on some grasses poking thorough shadowed snow.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Kristoff asked, jumping off of Sven. Elsa easily slipped down from her own horse and both ran up to the girl.

"What happened, Anna? Are you hurt?"

"Shh! Shhhh! Come on!" Anna scurried over to the bushes at the edge of the clearing.

"What?"

"Come on! Quick!" she waved them both over and they reluctantly followed.

They had to crawl along the forest floor, a place Kristoff felt rather at home, but Elsa couldn't help her heart going out to the maids of the castle who'd have to deal with the dirt and grass stains on her and Anna's clothes. Still she struggled on through the bushes.

"It's just up ahead, come on!" Anna called to them, her voice hushed.

"Anna where are we going?" Elsa asked, Anna shushed her.

"It's a surprise, come on!"

After a quarter minute that felt like three to Elsa they caught up with Anna who'd stopped at a little break in the bushes. She was stock still looking out of them.

"Okay, what's this all about?" Kristoff asked as he and the queen came closer.

"Look! Oh my gosh you have to see this," Anna said, excitedly, barely keeping her voice down.

Both Elsa and the Ice Master crowded near the princess, looking out through the prickly bush. It was a small clearing, and nearby under an upturned tree and its overgrown roots was a large red fox. It was beautifully lounging in the shade of the roots and beside it were a small writhing mass that Elsa soon realized was a litter of cubs.

"Oh my goodness, Anna!" Elsa practically squealed.

This close to the family of foxes the three of them could easily make out their little vulpine faces, bright eyes looking out at the world and even at them before burying themselves against the fur of their mother.

"Wow…" Kristoff said voice more than a little filled with wonder.

"See? I knew you'd like it. Look at their little faces!"

"Anna they're so cute! How'd you find them?"

Anna smiled sheepishly, "I uh, kind of chased the mom to here."

Kristoff shook his head, "I don't think you need to bother your dog man, Elsa. You've got a natural fox hound right here." Anna slapped his chest and he kissed her cheek.

Elsa smiled at the pair and looked back to the little family. Two of the cubs broke off from the group and started tumbling about each other, half growling and yelping as they played. They chased each other and when one caught the other they both barked out. Elsa and Anna couldn't help but giggle at the antics.

All too soon all the fox faces glanced up, ears perked and pointing towards them.

"What?" the three asked just before they heard the rustling behind them, they turned with a start just as Sven's massive head poked out from the bushes.

"Sven?"

They turned back to the clearing, the animals were gone.

"Sven!"


	3. Elsa and the Story of Tam Lin

"Why are we here again?"

"Where else would one go to find a book?"

"Yeah, well I'm not much of a reader."

"How can you not like reading, Kristoff?"

"Look it's… alright, I'm just not. You know. I'm not all that great at it," the mountain main said, glancing around, unease plain on his face, "Trolls don't really go in for the whole writing thing."

Elsa gaped at the comment, "Well you're going to have to learn. I can't have a member of my court being unable to read."

"Yeah, see, about that. Am I really even a member? I mean you can make ice and-"

"Hush," Elsa said, pointing at the man, "Now, what kind of thing do you like to read about?" The queen turned towards the nearest bookshelf. Kristoff could hardly think of just how many tomes stuffed its shelves. The wooden wall of words seemed to just stretch up and up, a mountain of knowledge unto itself.

"I don't know… Ice?"

Elsa's shoulders sagged as she sighed, "Everything can't be about ice, Kristoff."

"Look, your highness," she hated it when he called her that and she turned towards him in annoyance, "I'm a simple man. I wake up, eat my breakfast, gather ice, and go to sleep. I like ice."

She sighed again and whirled around, "Fine! Then I'll pick something. Let's see…" her elegant little hands slid along the spines of books as she quickly read to herself the titles imprinted on them. She walked, hips swaying along the shelf, along the walls filled with books, going over each book and discarding the thought of pulling it out. Kristoff follower her dutifully, unable to shake the feeling that the queen had already read everything in this library, possibly ten times over. Given her upbringing he found it a hard theory to doubt.

"Ah ha! here we are," Elsa finally said, plucking a book from the wall like fruit from a vine. She took the book into her arms and bade Kristoff to follow, plunging further into the library where situated in a small circle around a table five chairs sat. She pushed Kristoff into a chair and handed the book to him. A small thing considering the size of some of the other books, and old if he could take a guess. Imprinted on the spine and the face were the words 'Tales of the Fae in the Far Flung World'

"This is about the trolls again, isn't it? I told you they didn't really mean that," Kristof complained.

"No, here, turn to page…" she thought for a moment, "twenty five. You'll read that."

With a sigh he cracked open the book, the pages fluttering apart. He flipped through the paper, each page holding lines of text or a slightly washed out picture. Kristoff saw dragons and fairies, angry dogs and shaggy good ones. He finaly came to the page the queen had asked for.

"'Tam Lin, the Elf Knight'?"

The queen nodded before taking a seat on the armrest of the chair and commanding him to read.

"'Long ago, there lived a fair young maiden who was the daughter of an earl. Her name was Janet and she lived in a grey castle beside the forest of Carterhaugh in Selkirk, Scotland.

One day, she realized that she was bored to tears with sewing in her bower or playing silly games with the ladies of her father's house. So, she set off to explore the forest.'" Kristoff read, "'It was a magical setting. The sunlight shone through the trees and beneath her feet, the forest floor was covered with bluebells and briar roses. Impulsively, she stretched our her hand and plucked a white rose. No sooner had she done this when a young man suddenly appeared on the path before her.

Softly, he spoke. "I am the guard of these woods, sent here to make certain no-one disturbs their peace - who are you to pluck the roses of Carterhaugh and wander here without my leave?"'"

Kristoff turned the page. Printed on the next one was a woodcut of the elf and the fair lady, Janet and Tam Lin. She held up the rose as if protecting herself from the man accusing her. The man was tall and fair himself, handsome in a boyish way.

"'"I meant no harm," Janet answered. The young man smiled, as one who has not smiled for a long time, and plucked a red rose that had grown beside the white one. "Ah, but I would willingly give all the roses of Carterhaugh to one so lovely as yourself," he said.'"

Elsa giggled at the exchange.

" 'So taken by the man's charm Janet took the rose and found herself to have quickly fallen asleep. When she awoke she was back in her grey castle. Months passed and she found that she was pregnant. Her father confronted her, commanding she name the father, but all she would say was that he was an elf whom she would not forsake.

Later she returned to Carterhaugh and after wandering and losing herself in the wondrous woods once again plucked a white rose from a briar.'" Kristoff looked at the queen, a little smile over her face, "This doesn't really seem like that good of a story."

She gave the large man a playful slap on his shoulder and told him to read on.

" 'The young man appeared once more, softly accusing Janet of again taking what is his. He quickly remembered the fair woman, and importantly the swell of her belly. Shyly Janet asked the man his name.

"My name is Tam Lin," the young man replied. "I have heard of you! You are an elfin knight," cried Janet; and in fear she cast the flower away. "There is no cause for alarm, fair Janet," said Tam Lin. "For though men call me an elfin knight, I was born a mortal child, just as you were. Here, let us sit together and I will tell you my story."'"

Kristoff read on as Tam Lin told Janet of his past. How he used to be a mortal and that one night as he slept Titania, the queen of Fairies stole him away from his bed and made him into a Knight for her armies. At day, he said, he would guard Caterhaugh, taking from those who trespassed anything in equal measure to what they had taken from the forest. And at night he would be forced to return to Faeryland and attend to his forced-upon queen.

"' O, Janet, I long to return to my mortal life and wish with all my heart that I could be rid of my enchantment!"

He spoke with such great sorrow that Janet cried out: "Is there no way this spell can be broken?" Tam Lin caught her hands in his and said: "Tonight is the feast of Samhain, and only on this night of all nights, is there a chance to win me back to mortal life.

"Tell me what I should do to help you," implored Janet, "for I want to win you back with all my heart."'"

Kristof coughed, "This is, uh, starting to sound a little familiar."

"Some people are like that," Elsa said back.

"Didn't you yell at Anna for this exact same thing?"

"Anna wasn't a character in a story book," Elsa said kindly but sternly. She pointed back to the book.

Tam Lin told Janet of how to break the spell. That night she was to wait at the crossroads and watch as the faery company road past. Three companies there would be, and she must stand still and let the first two go by unheeded. In the third Tam Lin would ride a milk white horse, with gold adorning his brow. Then, he told the fair Janet, she was to turn to him, pull him from his horse, and wrap her arms about him and never let go, no matter what spell the queen of fairies might cast upon them. Janet promised she would be there and Tam Lin disappeared with a smile.

"'A little after midnight, Janet hurried to the crossroads and waited in the shadow of the thorn hedge. The ditches gleamed in the moonlight, the thorn bushes cast strange shapes upon the ground, and the trees rustled their branches eerily above her. Faintly on the wind, she heard the sound of bridles tinkling and she knew the faery troops were on the move.

As the first company passed her, she spotted the Elf Queen herself, mounted on a coal-black steed. She stayed perfectly still until they had passed her; nor did she move when the second company went by. But, among the third company, she saw the milk-white horse that bore Tam Lin, and the gleam of the gold circlet around his brow. Janet ran from the shadow of the thorn hedge and seized his bridle. She then pulled him to the ground and clasped him in her arms.'"

Kristoff turned the page again and there was another woodcut. This one showed Tam Lin looking regal on his white horse while Janet tugged at his leg. Both of them were smiling as though it were some kind of game.

Kristoff continued after a moment, letting Elsa gaze at the picture. A cry had gone through the three companies, Tam Lin is away, Tam Lin is away. The Elf Queen cried and cast a spell on her favored knight, turning him into a small scaly lizard that Janet quickly clutched to her breast. As her hands held fast to her changling love she felt a slithering in her fingers. Tam Lin was changed to a cold and sickly snake. Still she held fast even as the snake coiled around her neck. Then burning assaulted her as the snake became a burning cinder scalding her hands and turning them black. But still she held on to fair Tam Lin.

"'At last, the Elf Queen knew that she had lost Tam Lin because of the steadfast love of a mortal woman. She then shaped him in Janet's arms in his own form and raised her voice in a bitter lament:

"The fairest knight in all my company is lost to the world of mortals. Farewell, Tam Lin! Had I but known that an earthly woman would win you with her love, I would have taken out your heart of flesh and put in a heart of stone. And had I known that fair Janet was coming to Carterhaugh, I would have taken out your two grey eyes and put in two of wood."'"

Another page and another woodcut. This time Tam Lin and Janet stood in front of a briar of red and white roses, behind them through the trees a large grey castle could be seen.

"'It is said on their return, Janet's father blessed their union and they lived a long and happy life together. But they never forgot how they first met. Always, on Samhain, Tam Lin would take Janet for a walk through the woods, pluck for her a red, red rose and plant hundreds of soothing kisses on the brutally scarred hands that had saved him.'"

Kristoff closed the book, the soft slap of paper and leather echoed in the empty hall of books. Elsa gave off a little sigh as he finished, and he glanced at her.

"You read it very well, Kristoff. I thought you weren't very good?"

Kristoff shrugged, "I'm not, maybe it's the audience? I didn't really think you'd like a story like that."

Elsa smiled and glanced around the library before planting a little kiss on Kristoff's cheek

"Everyone likes to pretend sometimes, Ice Master,"


	4. Groom's Cake

The parties had to stop at some point, didn't they? A week. A week this had been going on. You'd think Arendelle had never heard of a pregnant princess before.

Anna clapped along with the dancers, her belly already swelling as she sat in the stands, seated next to the queen's chair. The queen's chair that was now vacant.

Oh, right. Anna had asked Elsa for something, hadn't she? Kristoff remembered seeing the queen scamper away after Anna had whispered something away into her sister's ear.

"So, what's this dance called?"

"I don't know" Anna giggled, watching the people twirl and spin about in front of her in the market square. Great banners cloaked the sides of the royal pavilion that Kristoff, Anna, and Elsa shared. All around the square pennants sat atop poles, streamers flew across the sky. Or they should've. They'd never bothered to even change out the decorations that littered the poles and facades of the market, not even after the rain storm three nights ago. Banners hung limp in the wind, drapery was still sodden and clung to walls and dripped over revelers. No one really seemed to care all that much. Their princess was with child. All the beer probably helped too.

"I'm pretty sure it's from Prussia though," Anna said as a lone man parted the crowd and danced on his own, feet slapping and clicking against the pavers. The whole dance was a complicated thing. If Kristoff watched the man's feet his eyes would water trying to follow them, if he watched the man's body it didn't seem like he could be moving at all with how still he was. His head was starting to hurt. Maybe he'd had too much to drink.

His chair rattled back and Kristoff pulled himself up with the railing before him, "I uh... I just need some air. I'll be right back, Anna."

"Alright honey," his wife said sweetly, "Actually, could you grab me a scarf? The blue one from our room?" she smiled, "I'm just a little bit chilled."

Kristoff nodded back to her as he left. It was a little strange, Anna not just getting something herself. Hah, maybe the baby was making her a little more cautious about things. Maybe Anna was finally taking things easy.

Nudging his way past the crowds behind the royal pavilion, Kristoff followed the same footsteps that had brought him out here, back to the castle. He waved at the guards as he walked by. Christen and Ben had gotten the short straws today it seemed.

He was getting better with the household and the servants names, he'd found, though it rankled him to call them that. A few short months ago when he and Anna had wed he was still getting lost and no amount of bumbling with the maids or butlers could help him.

At least he got on well with the guards and Kai. Gerda was a problem. She still glared at him, no matter how many times he'd apologized for what had happened. Well just as long as he didn't run into her it would be fine.

The newly minted prince-consort meandered along the halls. Maybe he wasn't as well versed as he'd thought only a moment ago. Now, which way was it? Left at the stairs? Or was it right? No Right was to Elsa's apartments. Anna's and His room was on the other side of the castle.

Did they really need to make all the doors the same color? It was like looking into a mirror with another one behind you. The same door after the same door after the same door. He should paint their door. Maybe a nice little white stripe down the side of it? Anna might see the humor in that.

Gerda wouldn't.

Kristoff shuddered at the remember gaze.

Okay let's see…Third door on the right? No, no. There was a window. All the windows were on the left side here, weren't they? Oh forget it.

Kristoff stepped over to the first door, grabbing the brass knob and turning it, pushing the door open and looking into a largely empty room.

The castle had plenty of them; it had been made to house a great number more than lived in it now. Elsa and Anna would use the extra space to put up and villagers that couldn't make ends meet outside the city walls. They weren't much use to anyone in the fall.

He closed the door and tried the next one. Triangular window stared at him from this room, furnished with a small cot and a small desk. A butler's room, Kristoff figured. But with a window! He was on the right side after all. He pulled the door closed and continued on.

It was three more doors until he'd finally found his wife's room. The door was ajar to begin with, in hindsight he should have looked here first.

Technically he and Anna both lived in here, but really, everything was Anna's. Most of Kristoff's belongings could fit in the back of a sledge. He'd gotten his own wardrobe at least.

Now where was that scarf? Probably the drawers, that's well Anna kept half her clothes, balled up and wrinkled. Elsa had kept on giving her hell about that. He pulled open one drawer, meeting Anna's small clothes, and not for the first time. He shut it and rummaged through another and another.

"Where are you, you little-"

"Who's there?"

"What?"

From behind the little changing curtain a blond head poked out.

"Elsa?"

"Kristoff? What are you doing in here?"

He held up the scarf, dark blue with little streaks of green.

"Oh"

"What are you doing in here?"

"Nothing!" her crimson face disappeared behind the wooden placards.

"Elsa-"

"You have your scarf," she called out, "you can go now!"

"Elsa…"

The queen sighed from behind the little fence, "Fine…"

Cloth rustled and Kristoff could hear the faint click of heels. Elsa stepped out into the light, red from her face to her shoulders but clad in a glowing white gown. Down the center, from the bodice's neckline to the hem of the skirt was an icy blue cut of cloth inlaid with darker stitching looping around in curls and vines of ivy crawling across flowers and moons. The white had its own stitching, giving texture to the snowy surface. It also sported the plant motif, curls of white grasses just a shade different from the gown curling in on each other and blooming into wondrous flowers. Around her waist a large ribbon of cloth was tied into a deceptively haphazard knot, leaving a trail down the queen's left side. As always her braid hung over her shoulder.

He didn't have to come any closer to the young woman to see the details in it. He already knew them. He'd seen the dress months before in a moment he'd remember for the rest of his life.

"That's-"

"Anna said that she got a second one, made a little larger in case the baby was showing when you two had finally set date," Elsa looked down, she felt furiously foolish in this thing now that Kristoff had seen her, "But it wouldn't really fit her… I think she… lied… to me…"

It fit Elsa like a glove, Kristoff saw. It was made for her.

"This was stupid. I shouldn't have tried this on. Stupid Anna" she tried to retreat back behind the wooden curtain but Kristoff stopped her, catching her arm in his hand.

"Elsa, you look… fine," he said.

She didn't say anything back; she just kept her eyes on the privacy screen. Kristoff figured she was doing everything she good to stop the color flushing her cheeks.

"I guess Anna's done it to us again, hasn't she?" Elsa finally said, turning to the man.

"She's pretty good at this," he admitted.

"At least the door isn't locked this time…" Elsa let out a nervous laugh, looking down at herself, "Maybe she thought it was unfair, her getting married and me not…"

He reluctantly let her go, and Elsa didn't run back to change. Instead she spun around a little, the hem of the skirt fluttering about her feet, "I think Anna and I have the same taste in dresses."

"You both look very ah. Beautiful in them," he said somewhat unconfidently.

Elsa took his hand and squeezed it and stood on her tippy toes. For a moment she felt like a princess on her wedding day.


	5. Heart is Where the Family Is

Tree's rustling in the wind was all Kristoff could hear as he tentatively placed his weight on his back foot. He could feel loose rocks slip and grind under his foot but the hold held. It wasn't a sheer cliff, but he'd be hard pressed to stop himself, and none of the more jagged rocks looked too comfortable to him. The mountain man tested another grip, and took another step down. This wasn't the easiest route to the bottom of the valley, the cliff seemed more like a pile of rocks than an actual mountain side, Kristoff had actually walked through the valley some dozen times but it was important he did it this way. He'd always done it this way.

He hadn't made this trip in years. Years upon years really. He must have been, what twelve? Thirteen? He shook his head at the thought.

Another step down, but this time the tumble of rocks took him with it. Kristoff scrambled to grab anything as he slid down. Rocks slid with hi and by him, but he found a little outcropping and with some luck was able to grab it, his grip tightening as his full weight bore down on his hands. With a grunt he held on as more and large rocks tumbled past, he could feel a few cut his hands and tear little holes in his clothing. As the rock slide subsided Kristoff looked up to see a little blond head sticking out over the cliff where he'd started. He gave a friendly wave to assure her.

It was nice that Anna asked to come along but the hurt look on her face when he said he was going down alone had driven a bit of the enjoyment out of the trip. He'd always done this alone ever since he first made the trip before meeting Sven. It was... right. It felt right. The idea of someone else with him for it was strange. Besides, Anna has Sven up there to keep her company. Regaining a foot hold, Kristoff started to head back down the last thirty feet of the climb.

Some of the tree's had fallen and new ones had grown up since the last time he'd come this way, but it wouldn't hinder him in finding what he was looking for. They should be right near the cliff.

A few feet away from where he'd reached the ground, at the edge of an old clearly now being invaded by small ferns stood two small, out of place boulders. Kristoff had remembered them being bigger, and as things always seem with memories, he couldn't grasp on if it was because he was taller, or the rocks had simply been eroded away. The stones were black, different from all the other ones on the cliffside and Kristoff had always wondered who had put them there. He never remembered anything like that when it had happened, but he couldn't remember much of it anyway and it always seemed to be slipping away. He rubbed some lichen off of the smaller of the two stones; the green flecks reminded him almost of hair with how they clung to the stone, before standing back and smiling.

"Hey, mom. Dad. It's been a long time, huh?"

He plopped himself onto the ground before the two head stones and continued with a dejected smile, "Sorry I haven't been around, there was... well I'm sorry, I'll try to do better." The man looked around, almost embarrassed by what he was doing. He'd grown up with trolls but it was a little strange talking to rocks you knew couldn't talk back. He scratched his neck, "Let's see.. uh. Something new. Oh I uh, I met a girl. Two girls, actually. I'm sort of engaged. Not to both of them, just the one. Ah… it's still kind of complicated, I don't really want to get into it, you probably don't have the time and.. ugh what am I even doing."

It had been so long ago that it was more of a story than a memory. People from a nearby village had found them, broken bodies and beams and a baby. They'd taken the child in, four maybe five at the oldest. They'd told him about what happened but Kristoff didn't remember any of it. When he'd finally decided to come here, the stones were in their places. They never even told Kristoff if they'd been buried here it wasn't exactly a barrow, but somehow the stones felt like the right place for them to be. He'd come her a lot before he'd found Sven. Kristoff sighed and looked back to the stones, "You'd like her I think, my fiancée, Anna. I mean I like. I'm just you know, guessing you'd like her. She's uh.. She's kind of the princess, you know, in that she is the princess." Kristoff wondered if his parents would smile at that. He didn't remember much of anything about them. Faces that were like you were looking through a haze, features that could belong to anyone, words that might have just been him hearing things came from those foggy lips with half seen smiles.

It had been harder as he grew older. He didn't remember much of his parents but what he did was just enough to send barbs at his heart, to needle him just enough to feel I He'd yell at his mother, at Pabbie. Seeing the others, the other trolls. With their parents growing up had been difficult. When anyone tried to find out why Kristoff was so agitated he could never explain why. The feelings were there, but at the time he didn't know how, and he couldn't say why, and that only served to frustrate him more. He was wrong, he'd thought. Something was missing, he'd been left behind. By the time he was fifteen he'd left, as much out of a need to do something as it was not wanting to be around people, even his adoptive family. For a long time after that he hated his foggy memories. That was when he promised himself he'd never come back to this little clearing.

Looking back at it, he was ashamed. Kristoff had acted so, well, childish to his family then. But what did you really expect? And now today, it was his first time back.

"Oh right, I uh, I'm the Royal Ice Master and Deliverer. The queen told me it was really just rank so that it wouldn't be so, what did she say, scandalous for me to court her sister. Oh you probably don't know, see the King and Queen's daughter, Elsa? She had ice powers; there was a whole deal about it almost two years ago. That's how I met them, actually, Anna and her sister. I guess I helped to save them, but Anna really did all the work. And the saving." Kristoff had pulled his legs to his chest, resting his arms on his knees.

It was nearly an hour later when Kristoff's head finally peaked over the edge of the cliff and Anna hopped up from the log she was sitting on. She'd thrown down a rope after he'd nearly fallen down the cliff face, she was all for Kristoff and his little moments of bravado but she really would rather he not break anything.

"Well? What was that all about anyway?"

"Oh just.. you know, visiting family."

Anna stared at him, she'd looked over the edge more than once while he was down there, it just looked like he was sitting with some rocks.

Well, he was raised by trolls… I suppose not everything is right in his head.

"Thanks for coming. I shouldn't have just told you to stay here but it was, ah, something I always did alone before. But it was nice that you came along Anna." Said Kristoff as he patted Sven, bringing him over to the sledge. He hooked the beast up to the vehicle and hopped in, Anna following suit.

"So where to now? It's only three." Anna asked.

"I don't know, I'm just the guide."

Anna smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "Let's find some place fun"

With a chuckle Kristoff gave the reins a snap, "Alright, but feet off the sled."


End file.
